WhatsApp urgent warning! Scammers target friends and family

WhatsApp group chat members are being alerted by experts to an audio call fraud that might damage the savings of friends and family.

The national reporting hub for fraud and cybercrime in the UK, Action Fraud, reports that it has received hundreds of complaints from victims, according to Metro UK.

The con artist calls and poses as a participant in a group chat, frequently using a fictitious display name and profile image to win the victim’s trust.

The fraudster will ask the victim to provide the one-time passcode (OTP) with them in order to be “registered” for the call during the conversation, telling them it is an OTP to join the forthcoming call for group members.

But in reality, this is an access code that the con artist will use to set up the victim’s WhatsApp on a new phone to hijack their account.

Subsequently, the con artist will activate two-step verification, rendering the victim’s account unreachable.

This enables the con artist to message additional individuals in the victim’s contact list, frequently requesting money while posing as someone in dire need of assistance.